My Sister's Keeper
by Faelin Haldthin
Summary: Chapter Three of my epic tale is up! Pelase read and review. ]
1. Everybody Hates Kitchen Chores

**Disclaimer**: -scowls- I hate disclaimers. There's no point to them. Everyone knows _I'm_ not Christopher Paolini, or J.K. Rowling, or any great author for that matter. I don't own any characters, unless of course you don't recognize them.

In this chapter, that means Faelin (me. I own myself. _Duh_.), Tomak, Lista, Bailik, and that brat Rudia. My parents; you'll find out about them later. -smiles mischeviously-

I don't own _Eragon_, _Eldest_, or anything written by Christopher Paolini having to do with the _Inheritence_ trilogy.

Do you get the point yet?

* * *

"Faelin! Get your daydreaming hide in here before I toss it into the chicken broth!"

_Ah, _a voice echoed in my head. _Back to work._

I scowled and picked up my writing things. The little wicker basket that I hoisted over my shoulder was rather light, though it held much more than the quill, ink bottles, and writing-covered parchment piled pell-mell into its space. It held my thoughts of the day, random pieces for a possible song or tale, even bits of conversations I heard in the market while on an errand for Lista.

Speaking of…

"Faelin Haldthin! Where in the _world_ are you?" The heavy oak door banged open and Goodwife Lista stepped into its place. Now, she's not really a Goodwife, mind you, but her husband was taken by the raiders years and years ago, and she doesn't want to be called a widow. It's too depressing, she says. And plus, she's not my mother, nor any of my siblings' mother. Our parents are off doing things, their "call to duty", as they put it. So Goody Lista is here to watch over us, and make sure we don't die from starvation.

"I'm here, Lista," I quickened my pace in order to reach the front door before she could yell again. I wasn't eager to leave the sanctuary of my favorite rowan tree, where I always do my best thinking, but I had to answer _my_ call to duty now. Kitchen chores.

Ew.

"About time, childling," Lista teased, fully aware that my birthing day was a few days before, making this hot summer my fifteenth. No longer was I a "childling," but I wasn't quite ready to be married off.

I wiped my sweat soaked bangs out of my eyes and stepped up to the doorway, expecting Lista to let me in. I was dreadfully wrong.

"What's that you got there, Fae?" The plump woman leaned forward so that I had to arc my back if I didn't want to touch noses with her. "It's not a quill and parchment, is it?" She grinned.

"No, Lista. It's a savage wolf. Care to look?" I thrust the basket under her nose and giggled as she pretended to swoon in fright.

"Deary me! Those ink bottles sure are scary," she replied, ushering me in from the sweltering sunbeams outside. The door shut with a heavy _thud_ as Lista bustled past, retying her apron around her chubby waist.

Aside from my sisters and brother, Lista is my best friend out here in Carvahall. I know, I know, it's far from Farthen-Dûr, but –I'll explain my parents later.

But anyway, Lista has been taking care of my family since Bailik, my first youngest sister, was born. That was fourteen years ago, so you could say we're pretty close.

I was just making my way through the oak-paneled entrance room of our house when a shrill and commanding voice echoed through the hallways. Even Theron, my brother Tomak's hound, whined a protest at the piercing call.

"Faelin! Come here!" _Not another summoning_, I thought while groaning. I set my basket of writing tools down near the stairs and made my way into the kitchen.

A petite girl, clad in a long dress accompanied by an apron identical to Lista's, was stirring something in a large pot hanging over the fire at the back of the kitchen. She was rather pretty, with auburn hair past her shoulders and small features. She was slender, but a bit on the short side. She was what the boys of our village would love to call theirs.

"What is it, Rudia?" I grabbed an apron from the rack near the door and strode over to my twelve year old sister, who looked miserable.

"Could you stir this broth for me?"

I snorted at her, wondering where her manners had gone. "Why can't you do it yourself?"

"But I've been stirring for_ever_," she whined, her face twisting into an expression of annoyance.

"Oh, please," Lista grumbled, stepping over a pile of unpeeled potatoes to rap Rudia on the head with a wooden spoon. "Ten minutes more and you're free to go." Rudia, not unlike Theron, whined a protest at the harsh smack and clutched her curly tresses.

Lista strode out of the kitchen and into the sitting room, humming to herself. A moment later I heard her make her way up the creaking stairs.

I leaned down so that I was level with my sibling's ear. "Where are you hurrying to? Surely not to see Authorn again?

I was satisfied to see Rudia's sun-tanned face redden.

"Authorn can wait. Dinner's a bit more important than sneaking out with some _boy_ from the village." I whispered evilly. I straightened up before Rudia cold say anything. This was only payback for her reading some of my most secret scrolls; what one could call a diary, I guess.

I began to walk to that pile of potatoes when I heard Rudia's stool scrape across the stone floor.

"Well, aren't you the hypocrite," came the acid retort I was only half-expecting. I usually caught Rudia unawares when I challenged her, leaving her stuttering for a good remark afterwards. But her words made me stiffen.

"You seem to think that darling Fenail is the most important things in Alagaësia! Why else would you write so much about him?" When I turned around, Rudia was glaring with a look of utter superiority on her quaint little face. I think she expected me to burst into tears, or even pounce on her. But she didn't think I was going to do what I did.

I laughed.

"Stupid wench," I replied, a bit more venomously than I intended. "Fenail isn't human, for one thing. And for another, he's one of my characters. For my _story_." I shot her a scathing look before picking up a dagger and peeling the skin off of a twisted potato. "Or didn't you realize that 'Fenail' is only an anagram of my own name?"

She shrieked at my condescending tone of voice and hurled the large spoon she was holding at my head. I only ducked just in time to avoid it colliding with my skull. She had deadly aim; I knew from experience. But I had wicked reflexes (mostly from those past experiences).

I looked at the potato in my hand. It would make a nice-sized lump on my sister's temple. So I sent it flying across the cobblestone kitchen straight to my sister's pretty little head.

Needless to say, it hit its mark with a satisfying _thump_. Another shriek escaped Rudia's lips as she fell to her knees, holding the side of her face.

"Authorn won't like that very much, now would he?" I held my chin high, waiting for her to answer.

She did. "Leave Thorn out of this, you witch!" She was crying now, and a twinge of pity made me realize that the potato that was in my hands only moments before was actually quite heavy.

I sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, Rudia. That was awfully mean of me, wasn't it?" I hate my conscience. Every time I did something even slightly mean to my siblings, I felt terribly guilty. Not that it stops me from slapping the boys in the market who try to see down my dress as they do with every other girl, and with much more force than I threw the potato at my sister.

I strode over to her and squatted down so that we were eye level. She was still crying. I held out my hand in an offering of peace, but she only glared at me.

"Please, Rudia. We shouldn't get mad over things like this," I pleaded. I tilted her chin up and gently pulled her hand from her face. Just as I had intended in my moment of anger, there was a large welt next to her ear. "Alright, I take that back. I give you full permission to hate me for as long as you live." I winced at the size of that welt. Oops.

Her big blue eyes searched my face for a minute before she threw her arms around my shoulders and started sobbing again. I was startled by this gesture, which was so unlike Rudia that I became confused.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" I rarely used that name on my sister, but I deemed this situation out of the ordinary. "What's bothering you?" I sat down from my squatting position and pulled my little sister into my lap, stroking her hair as she cried on my shoulder.

Rudia only shook her head and let her tears fall on my dusty dress. I rocked her back and forth a bit, as I had seen Mother do whenever my sisters (or I) crawled into her lap for a good weep. When she visited, that is.

After a few minutes of holding her, I pulled Rudia away from shoulder and looked her in the eye. "What's going on?"

"I-it's Th-Th-Thorn!" she cried. "He's f-found another g-g-girl! He t-told me last w-week that I w-was the pr-prettiest girl in all of C-Carvahall, and n-now he won't e-even s-speak to m-me!" She continued sobbing so hard that I put her head back on my shoulder.

"Well then, he's not a very nice, is he?" I tried to settle her mind; she was too young to be chasing after boys.

Rudia sniffled. "I guess not. But still…I thought he really loved me…" she took a deep breath and wiped her nose on her sleeve.

"Rudia, you're too young to be courting anyone yet. You'll be thirteen summers in a few weeks, remember? You haven't become a woman yet. Hell's teeth," I made a look of distaste, "I've only been a woman for a few sunsets! I'm not a woman at all yet!"

She giggled at this, and I knew she agreed with me. About the woman thing, I mean. Not about boys. Rudia, in a word, was boy-crazy. And _that_ was something we would have to break her out of. I smiled warmly at her; I don't like it when she cries.

The front door banged open once again, and the merry whistling of my brother Tomak reached our ears. He had a marvelous singing voice, too, but he often whistled when he was in the house.

He strolled into the kitchen and took off his own work apron to hang on the hook inside the door, but stopped short when he saw the mess we had made while Lista was cleaning upstairs. In our short scuffle, Rudia and I had let the stew burn, knocked over two bags of flour so that the floor was pasty white, squashed a few tomatoes, and made a mess of the potatoes.

I took one look at all of it and burst out laughing. Rudia and Tomak joined me for a few moments, but then we were all serious again, except for the grins on our faces.

"I'm not going to ask what fight the Haldthin sisters got into today," he chuckled, stooping to help us up. "Ah, lassie, why ye be crying?" Tomak often took on the accent of the fisherman down on Carvahall's many wharfs when trying to make Bailik or Rudia feel better. With me, he holds me like I held Rudia. It works much better for me.

He lifted Rudia into his arms and spun her around the kitchen, carefully sidestepping the mess we had created. She giggled like the child she was, even if she put on a grown-up façade most of the time.

I stood up and brushed the flour off of my dress and looked around. Tomak put Rudia down after a minute and the two of them joined me in examining the kitchen. Lista would have a fit and half if she saw it. My sibs seemed to be thinking the same.

Luckily, a solution in the form of Bailik arrived.

The front banged open yet again. The sound of running feet was heard all the way in the back of the kitchen. Bailik, my fourteen year old sister, skidded to a halt in the doorway of the kitchen and looked around.

"Be thankful you have me," she said with a grin on her face. "And Lista. If she hadn't told me to work in the fields, you'd be in great trouble right about now." She leaned against the doorway and crossed her arms.

Bailik was always speaking in riddles. It was terribly annoying most of the time. Like now.

"Get on with it, Bai," Rudia whined. She had an uncanny way of speaking all of our minds. "What could _you_ possibly do to clean all of this up?"

"Oh, not _me_," replied Bailik, examining her nails. She straightened up and cast us all that infectious smile of hers. "But I know two people who could do quite a lot!"

She turned and ran back through the hall, laughing with sheer delight. All of us, even Theron, followed her out of the house and to the back fields as fast as we could. It was a long run, and all of us were very winded by the time we got to our destination.

Lista would be angry that the crops would be squished, and that we made a giant mess in the kitchen. We would probably be sent to bed without supper, considering we let it burn. We were supposed to be doing our chores, but we had abandoned all thought of work when Bailik had come in.

It was all worth it, though, because standing there were our two favorite people in the entire world.

Uncle Eragon and Saphira were back from Ellesméra.

* * *

**Major spoilers! Major spoilers! WEEHEEHEEHEEHAAAAA**

-dances around like a lunatic-

Alright, if you haven't read the _Inheritence _books yet, I'm going to kill the plot for you in the next few chapters. So if you have any intention of reading them, no lookies! -guards "next chapter" button with teeth bared-

I'm not going to beg for reviews, seeing as everyone -- OH PLEASE PLEASE _PLEEEASE_ REVIEW! PLEASE! EVEN IF YOU THINK IT'S TOTAL DRAGON DUNG, I BEG OF YOU TO TELL ALL YOU FRIENDS! That's it's good, I mean. :D

I'll be around, and updates will be soon. And I'll answer reviews in the beginning of next chapter, whether it be answers to questions, thank-yous, or anything.

Tootles!  
Faelin


	2. Promises

I know, I know, this one is a short chappie, but I needed to make my point, and I like the way I ended it. I'm a fan of cliffies, as you can see. The next chapter is well under way, so it should be up in a matter of a day or two. Depending on how much homework my slightly evil (okay _really_ evil) teachers decide to give me.

Super-hero Fan: Aww you're so nice:3 My first review in a long, long time. I'm sorry I haven't updated sooner; I've been caught up in school work.

Eragon-vodhr: You're very welcome, and thank you for your praise. .

Evil D Man: Well, here's the chapter you've been waiting for! Thanks for your compliments.

Monkeybait: You're so kind:D I always appreciate reviews, but yours definitely made my day. (Just getting reviews does, actually.) I shall be glad to return the favor.

**Stupid disclaimers**. If you think that I own any piece of the Inheritance trilogy, go whack yourself on the head a good few times with a large, blunt object. Like a baseball bat.

And now, to the next installment of my legacy! -curtain rises-

* * *

My heart exploded in sheer joy at the sight of my much-loved and only uncle, standing there with his magnificent sapphire dragon. Although…we never really thought of her as "his." Saphira was as much her own person as any of us was, even if she was a great scaly beast.

The wind ruffled Uncle Eragon's hair, blowing it in a way that made him look oddly weary. He had been through so much…but that was years ago. Even so, scars took a long time to heal; especially those on the inside. But my uncle was like a child when he was with us; his only family always made him happy.

And, as his family, that was our job.

I gathered my skirts and dashed forward with new-found determination. Flinging myself into my uncle's arms, I inhaled the sweet scent of pine trees and fresh air he always smelled of. Saphira bugled a hello (of sorts) as the rest of my siblings came to meet us.

I was instantly smothered as Bailik launched herself at Uncle Eragon, followed by an ecstatic Rudia. Tomak ambled up, trying to look much older than his eighteen-year-old self and clasped hands with Uncle. They stared at each other for a moment, and then broke into broad grins. Tomak was pulled into our giant bear hug quite willingly.

Not one to forget about patient Saphira, I detangled my body from the mass of my family and greeted her with a polite curtsey. Of course I was only playing with her, but she played along, bowing her head in mock-formality.

_Good day to you, Dearest Lady_, she projected into my head with an air of the royal court.

"And good day to you, Skulblaka!" A giggle bubbled forth from my throat, and I was overcome with mirth. Saphira gave that rumbling cough that we had all come to associate with a physical laugh, and twisted her serpentine neck around to nuzzle me on the shoulder.

_I missed you, hatchling_, she murmured in my head while I stroked her scaly nose, _But no longer are you a hatchling. You are a woman now._

_I will always be your hatchling, Saphira._ I surprised myself by answering with mind-speak; proper etiquette said that I should ask Uncle Eragon first. I pulled away and stammered an apology to Uncle Eragon.

He looked confused as he pulled away from my brother and sisters. His eyes flickered to Saphira for no more than a mouse's heartbeat before returning to me, and I knew he had received a brief explanation. Then his warm smile returned.

"Etiquette, shmetiquette! Do you really think," he ruffled my hair in that way uncles are so good at, "That I care if my niece talks to my dragon?" I smiled sheepishly.

He shared a look with Saphira before punching Tomak lightly in the arm and turning the conversation to what he had been working on lately. Tomak enthusiastically began to explain what kind of ship he was building at the moment as they walked back to the house.

I turned to tell my sisters that we should probably hurry along if we didn't want to be yelled at by Lista. I found, however, that Rudia was already running after Uncle Eragon and Tomak. Bailik was no where to be seen.

But Bailik is always somewhere near, even when we think she's disappeared. It's a very trying habit of hers, especially when one is in a bad mood.

A blonde head popped up from behind Saphira's hulking form. My sister's lanky form followed suit, swinging up and over the saddlebags attached to the saddle. Saphira had a twinkle in her eye, and I couldn't help but grin as I rolled my eyes.

"Don't ruin another skirt, Bai!" She only laughed and hitched her long skirt up to her hips, revealing a pair of leggings I recognized as Tomak's. With the skirt sitting in her lap, she looked like a laundry maid on horseback. She never rode sidesaddle; that was for girls who weren't afraid to get dirty. Like Rudia.

Uncle Eragon always let us take flights with Saphira; most of the time we could just clamber up and soar off. The only one of us who wouldn't go alone was Rudia. The silly girl was so afraid of heights that she wouldn't get on without Uncle behind her.

Uncle Eragon works wonders, though. He once got Rudia to sit sidesaddle and hold her arms out, like she was flying. He kept a firm grip on her tiny waist the entire time though. Mother would have a fit and a half if Rudia fell from the sky.

Saphira let out a great roar and leapt into the sky, beating her gigantic wings. I could hear Bailik call out my name even hundreds of feet up; she had a particular talent for that. I laughed and whooped with joy.

Saphira looked like a large bird, she was so high up, but she began to plummet at an alarming rate. Her wings were tucked into her sides as she nosedived straight toward the grassy fields in front of me. Bailik screamed with what I assumed was horror, but turned out to be happiness after all.

Saphira's wings snapped open at the last moment with a great _whoosh_, only a fraction of a second before she hit the ground. She glided over the grassy land as if in water, only a few feet above the ground. She completed an excellent barrel roll over the crest of a hill, and I watched Bailik snatch something from it with a deft movement. Saphira straightened out and tucked her right wing to her, turning back to where I stood.

Bailik jumped off nearly before Saphira had landed. Saphira held her back a moment, touching something I couldn't see with the tip of her nose.

Bailik wobbled a bit as she jogged to me; dizzy from the barrel roll, I was sure. She stopped right in front of me and went down on bended knee. My sister had always been a bit odd, but this was really confusing.

She looked up with a grin on her face and pulled a glorious flower from behind her back. It was crystalline, looking as if someone had taken the delicate pink petals and dipped them in glass. Now I realized what Saphira had touched. Dragon's magic was amazing.

Bailik and I had christened the plant "Dragon's Breath," due to the flaming orange that singed the tongue-like pink petals. It was utterly gorgeous; my favorite flower. And Bai knew it.

"If I were to ever leave this place," Bailik whispered, breathing heavily from the exhilarating flight, "I ask that you would accompany me."

Tears gathered at the corners of my eyes as I fell to my knees to hug her.

"My sister, my sister," I buried my face in her tousled, sun-bleached locks. "I would follow you to the four corners of Alagaësia if I could." As I pulled away, I knew she was thinking the same.

"Then take this Dragon's Breath," she whispered, taking my folded hands and placing the flower in them. "As a promise."

I grasped the gift and smiled. I tasted salty tears on my lips, something I was not used to.

"I promise."

* * *

-sniffles- So bitter-sweet! I'm sure it made a fair few of you cry, don't deny it:)

Anyhoodles, I'll be posting the next chapter quite soon. I'm so excited about writing it that I began to write it out in class the other day. I hate writing my stories by hand, so you all better love me. xP

Read and Review, s'il vous plait!

Faelin 8D


	3. Laughter, Fire, and Really Bad Footwork

**Author's Note**: Contrary to popular belief, I do not resent my sister! I love her! Duh. :P But you'll see in the coming chapters how I am the wind beneath her wings; and trust me, it's pretty cold there in her shadow. But I'm proud of her! I really am.

**Disclaimer**: Wondering why you don't recognize some of the characters? Chyeah. They're mine. That's it. Nothing else. Get it? Got it? Good.

_My lady, she doth dance with grace;_

_Without a single flaw._

_Unless you count her lovely face_

_Which isn't lovely at all!_

Tomak danced a little jig around the bonfire as we all laughed. Contrary to our belief, Lista had been so happy to see Uncle that she simply made another dinner to celebrate.

Not that she had forgotten about the mess Rudia and I had made.

"This will come back to you in threefold, m'dears!" she had said with quite a mean scowl on her face. Rudia and I had looked properly ashamed in the face of Goody Lista, but laughed about it as soon as she let us go.

It was now well into the night, our bellies were full of delicious rabbit procured by means of Theron's happy hunting, and no one wanted to go to sleep. In fact, it was almost as if the world would end as soon as we closed our eyes.

When Uncle Eragon had told us there was to be a surprise waiting when we were finished washing up, Rudia, Bailik, Tomak, and I burst into the house and pulled out our best clothes. We all piled into Bailik's room with armfuls of clothes.

I combed Rudia's hair until it was sleek and shiny as we all tried to guess what the "surprise" would be.

Tomak contributed his guess of a score of pretty maidens from the corner where he was changing to an embroidered frock coat.

Several pillows and a comb were thrown at him.

Bailik stood in the mirror examining her pale lips. "Mayhap it's a new Rider?" She bit them softly and watched as the red color blossomed. I imitated her and smiled.

"I doubt it," declared Rudia, in the process of pinning up her long hair so it was styled half up, half down. "The latest egg is all the way in Farthen-Dûr, and it's not likely it's going to hatch any time soon."

"And how would you know any of this, Missy-foo?" Uncle was leaning in the doorway. He seemed amused by all of our preparations.

Rudia stammered for a response, but he waved it away with a smile and a strong hand. "Saphira says you all look lovely, as do I, but I think you may want to change into what you'd wear while sitting on the ground and enjoying yourselves."

He looked pointedly at the heavy linen gown I was wiggling on over my best shift and the poofy leggings adorning Tomak's legs.

Giggles filled the room as Uncle shook his head with a smile and left us to change. I pulled off the gown and slipped on my absolute favorite casual dress, an azure hue so bright it was like having Saphira's scales sewn into the fabric. Bailik's outfit was traded for leggings so wide they could be skirts and a tunic "stolen" from our father the last time he visited. Rudia, still not totally convinced there were no boys outside waiting to flirt with her, took out a gold dress with white embroidery. I knew it would get dirty right away, but she stubbornly wouldn't listen.

Tomak led the way in sensible breeches and a white linen shirt as we trotted out into the backyard. Saphira and Uncle were there, as well as Lista in her ever-present apron and shift. It was turning dark, but I could see the smiles on their faces as we took in the scene they had set up for us.

A fire roared on the stones laid out for that purpose, and a marvelous dinner was set up on the table taken form the kitchen. Our favorite foods were set out; rabbit stewed in creamy onion soup; fresh bread with rosemary and chives; sweet lemonade. Magic was truly amazing.

Uncle sat on a log beside the blaze, one leg casually crossed over the other. Saphira's giant form was behind him and just to his right, her nose resting on his left shoulder. He leaned against her serpentine neck. The picture was touching, to say the least.

And so we arrived at Tomak's entertainment. The rhymes he made up as he danced around the fire weren't great, but his antics made us laugh all the same. His singing voice was lovely; I wasn't lying when I said that. But his rhythm left a lot to be desired. Several times he tripped over a stone or even Theron, who lay at Lista's feet, but he was always up on his feet with a smile.

Rudia was just the opposite. Her grace was something Bailik and I both wished we had; she took after our mother in that aspect. She twirled around the fire in slippers she had styled to tie up her legs, leaping and bending into fluid motions. The blocks she had put in the front of her shoes enabled her to stand on her toes, and so she did. Her dance was totally practiced, but made it seem as if it were all natural. There was a silence when she finished.

When her heels touched to the ground again she stared at us all in mock disbelief. "You'd think I was a dancer or something."

We all laughed and ushered Bailik up to do something. When she stood dumbstruck, the glare from the flames casting an eerie shadow over half her face, I bounced up beside her.

"What about a poetry contest?" I exclaimed with a smile. She looked at me, clearly uncomfortable. She glanced at Saphira.

"Why don't you just recite something?" she asked, a bit too quickly. Normally Bailik was eager to tell a story, or even just to talk. My father used to smile and say the sound of her own voice was what pleased her most.

I gave her a look. _What is going on with her?_ I asked Saphira in mind-speak.

_Never you mind, Faelin_, came the answer I least wanted to hear. _Recite something you've written._

I sighed audibly and shooed Bailik away to go and sit. I might as well listen to Saphira.

I cleared my throat and shifted my feet around a little. I flipped through the parchments in my head, trying to decide which poem I should bring out of secrecy.

"Lovers Lost?" Nah. Kinda sad. "If Only I Could Fly?" Well we all know what that's like. It'd bore them.

The frown on my face prompted Uncle, who'd been mostly silent, to call out, "How about that one about the forest?" There was that ever-present twinkle in his eye. I smiled.

"Sure." I clasped my hands behind my back and strolled a few steps back and forth as I told my story.

_In the forest fabled black_

_Beside the mountains dusted white_

_Burst forth a cloud of charcoal crows_

_Calling out in dawn's first light._

I implored Saphira silently to raise herself up a bit as I spoke, where the fire cast a glow on her scales. I fixed my hands into various shapes as I spoke, creating a shadow-filled picture show to accompany my words.

_In the canopies so dark_

_Belonging to the forest black_

_Flit the sparrows, to and fro,_

_All the while calling back._

A bird flapped along Saphira's flank and up her belly. This drew a few timid laughs as what was meant to be a solemn poem went on.

_Leaves that make the canopies_ –

I was startled when a huge number of leaves fell on my head. I was frozen with my arms out, and the look on my face so surprised that Tomak and Bailik, Rudia and Lista, even Saphira began to laugh. Uncle was the only one who wasn't just laughing. He was roaring. In hysterics. Cracking up. However you put it, there were tears of mirth rolling down his face as he was doubled over.

I looked up and felt handfuls of crisp leaves slide off me and settle around my bare feet. There was the ancient maple, swaying though there was no breeze. It was getting old, and we planned to cut it down come autumn when we would need firewood. It was nearly bare of leaves now, considering Uncle had so happily convinced it to drop them on my head.

I put on an air of dignity and brushed off the leaves that clung to my sleeves. Deliberately clearing my throat, I called order back to my poem.

_Leaves that make the canopies_

_Drip with sad, sad memories_

_Of things been lost, and things been found._

_Too long have these trees been around_.

I gestured to the maple as I said this, which groaned in reply. A glance at Uncle Eragon told me he had nothing to do with it, seeing as he had one eyebrow raised at me. Then again, you could never be sure.

I went on to tell of a young man and a young woman, the latter of which is called into the forest by the former's magic voice. Sure, it was a bit far fetched, but Rudia made me promise when I was done to write it down all fancy-like for her so she could keep it in her room.

I swept back to my seat in my sore feet (it was a long poem!) Uncle put a hand on my shoulder and kissed the side of my head before he got up for his turn, and I knew why. I had drawn upon nature in order to write this, and he loved it.

Uncle stretched and yawned, feigning sleepiness. "It's far too late, isn't it childlings?" A grin spread across his magic-shaven face.

Rudia leapt up. "No, Uncle! Please show us something!"

"Rudia, don't be daft. He was only kidding!" I yanked her down with a laugh.

"Oh," was her quiet reply, accompanied by a crimson blush. I tweaked her cheek and she smiled.

"Hm," said Uncle, his lips pressed together and one hand on his hip. The other scratched his chin as he paced a few steps back and forth. "what shall I play with tonight? Mayhap….._adurna_?"

A thin stream of water flew out of the nearest pitcher and shot right into Lista's mouth, open wide in a yawn. Her eyes popped open and she coughed before swallowing amid many laughs from my brother and sisters. I merely smiled and watched.

"Eh." Uncle made a noncommittal nose and shrugged. "What about _deloi_?"

The ground rumbled beneath Theron. The slumbering hound opened one eye and cocked an ear before being lifted into the air by the small plateaus erupting out of the ground. Theron jumped off the platforms with a yelp as they shrunk back into the ground.

"I know! _Brisingr_!" he cried, and two tendrils of fire spun out of the fire, one a bright blue and the other deep green. They lashed around him, violent but graceful, and twined together to form one long arm. The two colors were still visible; it looked as if Uncle had taken them and twisted them together as he would two pieces of thin copper.

This arm snaked around him and lit up his face an eerie color, like the bottom of a lake. It unraveled from around him and became two again, the green gliding out to us. It stopped near Lista and pulsed bright, but poor Lista only cowered with a forced laugh into Tomak beside her. It moved on.

Rudia was next. She shrieked with laughter as it danced around her, spinning with it until she was dizzy. She sat down a little wobbly with a smile on her face. It came to Bailik, and she bravely reached out to touch it. She shivered as she came in contact with the cold fire, but let it curl up her arm. She was soon engulfed by it, watching as it twisted all over her like a snake.

I felt a tap on my right shoulder, but when I turned there was no one there. I spun in my seat to my left and saw only a shimmer of blue. With a quick movement I reached behind me and felt a brush of cold as the blue tendril slipped away to Uncle. He winked at me, and I smiled.

The fire withdrew from us, curling back and returning to the orange flames. We were all silent in appreciation, but cheered when Uncle pulled a very dramatic bow.

"But I believe we've left someone out!" Uncle's eyes swept our little group, resting on Lista.

"Oh no no, I couldn't!" She fidgeted in her seat.

Uncle's warm smile calmed her down. "I'm only joking Lista," he said. "It looks like Bailik hasn't done anything."

I turned to look at my sister and found she wasn't there. Quick glances told me she wasn't even near the campfire anymore. Uncle looked terribly puzzled.

"Where is she?" asked Rudia, queen of obvious questions.

"Faelin!" I heard my name being called from high above. "Rudia! Tomak! Listaaaaaaaah!" a gleeful laugh followed the shouts. I looked up, already knowing what I would see. There was Bailik atop Saphira, who roared a greeting as well.

They executed the barrel rolls they both love. Then came a loop, which I had never seen them do before. They did a few in succession before my eyes widened and a scream tore from my lips.

I watched in horror, not able to do anything, as my sister, my best friend, fell from the sky.


End file.
